Before the Vote

Before the vote

The presidential election commission is launched amid criticism
By Pakinam Amer

NDP bigwigs (from the right) Gamal Mubarak, Ahmed Nazif, Safwat Al Sherif and Kamal Al Shazli are refurbishing the ruling party's house with democratic decor.
MENA
The commission that will supervise the presidential election officially opened for business on 24 July. One of its first pronouncements was to confirm, as presidential chief of staff Zakaria Azmi said several weeks ago, that the presidential election will take place on 7 September.
Proponents of the Presidential Election Commission, established as part of the constitutional amendment that allowed for multi-candidate presidential elections, say it will level the playing field. “Even Hosni Mubarak, if he decides to run for president, will have to go to the commission’s office to register and have his candidacy approved,” Al Ahram editor Ahmed Moussa said. “The committee bows to no one but the law.”
And the law has blessed the 10-member commission—composed of five judges and five public figures—with sweeping powers. It will register candidates, set rules for campaigning and arbitrate disputes. Most significantly, however, the commission will rule on what has become the hot issue of the September election: who will supervise voting?
The government has refused to allow international observers to oversee the process. The commission will be empowered to decide which, if any, local civil society organizations can fill that void.
The commission will also handpick judges to monitor the elections. The judiciary split earlier this year when thousands of judges rebelled against the government, alleging past election fraud and demanding full judicial oversight in future elections. In 2000, the first time judges supervised any election, they were only present in a small percentage of the voting stations. More recently, a report by the Judges’ Club said the 25 May referendum was marred by fraud.
Leading the movement for greater judicial independence is Nasser Amin, director of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) and one of the Commission’s most vocal critics. Amin says that most members of the commission are former high-ranking members of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and that they have been appointed as judge, jury and executioner in all matters pertaining to the presidential election.
“Where is the commission’s objectivity?” asked Amin. “Having appointees that favor a certain party means the commission loses its diversity and its sense as a national body. Moreover, by law the commission’s decisions cannot be challenged and its rulings concerning candidate disputes are considered final. This contradicts even the Egyptian constitution. This kind of commission could only exist in an oppressive system.”
Even NDP supporters say that the commission’s influence for now remains largely unknown. “There will not be a big change,” admits NDP member and political analyst Hala Moustafa. “The formation of this committee is like a political experiment, a way to launch the electoral process. It’s a step, but this commission cannot challenge the current political structure.”

Copyright2005 Cairo Magazine

Cairo Magazine
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